Sealing cap for containers



Nov. 18; 1947. WAL S I 2,430,967

SEALING CAP FOR CONTAINERS Filed Aug. 14, 1945 INVENTORQ 51 AR THUR 5.M4LTR5 main-WE A TTORNL'K :in thecontainer.

Patented Nov. 18 1947 2,430,957 sesame roar FOR iooummnns -A!=i 3.;'B-.W eese 1 Application a srm, 194'5, Serial No.- 6l0 7I4 Thisinvention relates toa container, more particularly but "set necessarily,a-cylindrical cardhqart een ai e The nri clpalzo ject of the inventionis to provide a cylindrical-container with a simple and highly eificientcap enclosure which: i

can be quickly and easily snapped into place, and which will securelyhold and seal the contents Another :oblect .of the invention is toprovide an efii'cieht means for placing cardboard caps of this typein-cylindricalcontainers.

' Otherobject-s and advantagesresiderin deai watch i e e eet ea h h issigned for. simplicity, econ my, .and efficiency.

These w'illb'ecoine more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is hadto the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numeralsrefer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout thedescription.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a face View of the cap employed in the improved container;

Fig, 2 is a section therethrough, taken on the line 2--2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the upper portion of the improvedcontainer, illustrating the cap partially inserted therein;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the improved container, partially in section,illustrating the top and bot tom caps of the container in their finalpositions;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section through the upper portion of the container,illustrating an alternate form of the cap partially inserted therein;

Fig. 6 illustrates the alternate form of cap in place in the container;and

Fig. '7 is a side view, partially in section, of an inserting tool whichmay be employed either by hand or in a conventional capping machine forplacing the caps in place in the containers.

The improved container is illustrated at In, preferably formed ofcardboard, fiber, or similar material. The container could, however, beformed of sheet metal if desired. As illustrated, both the top andbottom of the container employ the improved cap construction. Ifpreferred, the bottom could be of any desired construction, and theimproved cap employed only on the top.

As illustrated, the container Ill contains an internal, peripheral,indented groove II around its top and bottom, adjacent the openextremities thereof. Between the groove H and these extremities, thematerial of the container is turned back upon itself to form areinforcin fold I2,

which reinf rc s th nenzextrem tiesof thecontainer.

Th im ro ed saris-sham in de ai n Fi s. :1 and 2, and consists of a disc13 pf -cardb oa-rd or similanmatenal. mheouter:suriac etthed s I3 isinden ecl 0r s ored by ineaa sof Meshaec steri s. th re bein a plu ality:of at met ica l -e e din scores l4 j in d at their innerextremii s iby'rmc nsoi .circumferentiallyaextendi scores l5 so as to form a rim ofsegments sepaatedby fold lines lcSCQIfifi- The --scores lit and-l5gender the cuter .ecleeof the disc ifiex h s i u .d t eti n. [that thisen er ed e e ben toward the seated surface, causing the" scores tocontract to accommodate the bending. The cap I3 is of larger diameterthan the inner diameter of the container Ill, and of slightly largerdiameter than the inner diameter of the groove l I.

In placing the cap IS in the container, it is simply forced into theopen end thereof with the scored surface outward, as shown in Fig. 3.This causes the annular edge portion of the cap to fold upwardly oroutwardly unti1 the groove II is reached, at which time the cap willstraighten to its original fiat position, as shown in Fig. 4. Since thedisc is slightly larger than the internal diameter at the groove, thetendency of the disc to attain its fiat shape causes it to expand andcompress against the bottom of the groove ll throughout its entirecircumference to form a tight seal. The cap resists bending in theopposite direction, due to the fact it is scored on only one side sothat it cannot be readily forced from its position in the container Ill.

In Figs. 5 and 6 an alternate form of the end cap is illustrated,comprising a disc l5 which may be exactly similar to the disc l3. Asecond reinforcing disc 16 is cemented to the inner face of the disc l5,the cement being applied only Within the outline of the segmental scorededge, so that the annular rim portion of the disc I3 is free to flex asusual. The reinforcing disc It may be of any material, such ascorrugated cardboard, and is of a diameter to snugly slide into thecontainer I0 without distortion.

The alternate form of cap is inserted similarly to the previouslydescribed form by forcing it into the open end of the container [0,allowing the rim portion of the disc l3 to bend outwardly, as shown inFig. 5, until the groove I l is reached, at which time it will flattenagainst the disc l6, as shown in Fig, 6, to form a positive, rigid seal.

It is exceedingly difficult to force the alternate form of the capoutwardly, due to the fact that the reinforcing disc l6 prevents theedge portion of the disc l from flexing inwardly.

An inserting device for placing the caps in position is illustrated inFig. '7, and comprises a conical, hollow shell portion I! mounted on theextremity of a Vacuum pipe l8. The lower periphery of the shell I!carries a flexible sealing gasket IQ of rubber or similar material. Thediameters oi the shell and gasket are slightly less than the diameterwithin the scores of the disc. The inserting tool is placed against thecap to be inserted, and the cap is forced inwardly therewith, as shownin broken line in Fig. 5. The tool may be employed by hand or mounted ina capping machine. In either case, the tube I8 is preferably connectedto a source of vacuum so that, if the caps are forced too far into thecontainers, they may be withdrawn to their proper sealing point.

As before stated, the container may be formed of any suitable material.This is also true of the discs l3, l5, and I6, any or all of which maybe formed from cardboard, corrugated board, fiber, plastic, or metal, ifdesired.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described andillustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may bevaried, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired securedby Letters Patent is: Means for closing the open end of a container ofthe type having an outwardly indented circumferential groov positionedparallel to the open end, comprising: a capping disc of slightly largerdiameter than the internal diameter of said container; a plurality ofradially-extending indented scores in the outer surface of said discextending inwardly from the periphery thereof for a relatively shortdistance; tangentially-extending scores connecting the inner extremitiesof the radially-extending scores, said scores allowing flexing of theedge of said disc to permit insertion thereof into said container toreach said groove, the periphery of said disc resting in said groove;and a second unscored disc secured at its middle to the inner face ofthe first disc, said disc being substantially equal in diameter to theinner diameter of said container, and lying against the first disc overthe entire surface of the second disc to prevent inward flexing of theedges of the first disc.

ARTHUR B. WALTERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Tsuchiya Sept. 23, 1930

